


Communication is Key

by The_German_Grim_Reaper



Series: A Mutual Trust [2]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: s01e11 Rôti, Established Relationship, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter is a Cannibal, Hannibal Lecter is the Chesapeake Ripper, Kidnapping, M/M, Will Graham Has Encephalitis, Will Graham Knows, Will Graham Loves Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham is a Cannibal, it's a bit cheesy tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27127723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_German_Grim_Reaper/pseuds/The_German_Grim_Reaper
Summary: When Dr Abel Gideon escapes from the BSHCI, Will is tasked with helping to track him down.  Unfortunately, this coincides with his first real fight with Hannibal.  Add a little kidnapping into the mix, and Will finds himself having a *very* bad two days.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Series: A Mutual Trust [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1979785
Comments: 24
Kudos: 420





	Communication is Key

**Author's Note:**

> 2 hannibal fics in 3 days... somebody should probably stage an intervention

“Abel Gideon escaped from custody today,” Will said conversationally, leaning against the counter as he watched Hannibal prepare lunch.

“Oh?” Hannibal asked, not sounding surprised at all.

“Mmm. Broke his thumb to get out of the handcuffs and then murdered both of his guards and the driver.”

“Resourceful,” Hannibal remarked, not looking up from where he was skillfully dicing a tomato.

Will smiled at him, watching the movement of the knife and imagining it was something else the other man was cutting. Something very different, but just as red. “He took out their hearts and strung them up from trees like Christmas lights.”

That got Hannibal’s attention. He looked up, raising one eyebrow. “Interesting. The bodies or the hearts?”

“The hearts. I told Jack the real Ripper would never leave perfectly good organs lying about, but I’m not sure he was convinced.”

“You must not have tried very hard to convince him, then.” Hannibal turned his attention back to the tomatoes, sprinkling them over the top of the dish. Artfully placing a sprig of basil on the top, Hannibal presented one of the plates to Will. “A fresh tilapia bruschetta on grilled sourdough.”

Will accepted the plate, following Hannibal to the dining room with a smile. Although their meals together usually involved complicated place-settings and more than one dish, this time Hannibal seemed to sense that Will was in the mood for something a little less formal.

“I didn’t,” he admitted, settling down in his normal seat just across from Hannibal. “Try to convince him, I mean. I figured the real Ripper would be making that clear soon enough, so I didn’t see the point in wasting my breath.”

“Not to mention,” Hannibal added, giving Will an amused smile as he poured them each a glass of white wine, “you wouldn’t want to raise any uninvited questions. I don’t think Jack Crawford would be pleased to hear that you have first-hand knowledge of what the Ripper does with the organs that he keeps.”

Will laughed. “Yeah, no, he wouldn’t like that at all. Just tilapia today?”

The question had become a usual part of their routine. Hannibal always told him they were eating lamb or beef or (notably, once) sea urchins. Will would give him a fond look and ask what they were _really_ eating; Hannibal would return his look and tell him it was an accountant, or a lawyer, or a rude man he’d met on the bus one day five months ago. It should probably bother Will how easily his morals had adjusted to this new reality, but he didn’t particularly care.

Hannibal paused, considering the question. “I suppose the basil technically contains meat, albeit indirectly. I grow my own herbs and I’m sure you can guess what I use to fertilize them. But as for the rest of it, yes, it’s just tilapia. I am capable of many things, Will, but even I cannot make human flesh taste like fish.”

Will smiled. “If anybody could do it, it would be you.”

Hannibal returned the smile. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It was. You didn’t have anything to do with Gideon’s escape, did you? I didn’t sense you there but I figured I’d better ask.”

“No, although I suspect Frederick Chilton may have had a hand in it. I had him over for dinner last night and he appeared _very_ concerned with what Gideon might say about him should he make it to court.”

“Do you think Gideon might go after him now that he’s out?”

“It’s very likely, yes.” Hannibal did not sound overly concerned about the possibility. Then again, Will wasn’t, either.

“Can’t say I would blame him. I don’t suppose we can let him take care of Chilton before we go after him? He’d be doing the both of us a favor.”

“Go after him?” Hannibal’s eyes widened in a mockery of innocence. “My dear Will, I have no idea what you could possibly mean.”

Will laughed. “Can we, though? I haven’t gotten to go with you on a hunt yet, not unless you’re counting Tobias. And I don’t expect you to let Gideon run around besmirching your good name.”

“A pretender to the throne would never last long, even if left to his own devices. But to answer your question, yes, I plan on punishing him quite severely. You are, of course, welcome to join me.”

“And Chilton?” Will asked, taking another bite of his bruschetta.

“We will have to see. If Gideon doesn’t take his own revenge, it’s always possible that the Ripper could be moved to act on his behalf. Tampering with someone’s mind is, after all, shockingly rude.”

“Unless you’re the one doing it, I assume?” Will asked, giving the other man a wry smile. Even though he was recovering well now, he hadn’t forgotten that Hannibal had left his encephalitis untreated for weeks and planned to use it against Will in the worst possible way.

“I would have gotten you released eventually,” Hannibal said, unconcerned. “Everything I did, or planned to do, was to help you reach your true potential. Luckily for me, it seems that telling you the truth worked just as well.”

Will resisted the urge to scowl at him. Despite the fact that he’d long since forgiven Hannibal for his trespasses, they would never see eye-to-eye on the issue of the encephalitis. That particular revelation had been just over two months ago, making it three and a half since Will had first found out his identity. Not wanting to start a fight over it, Will almost decided to change the subject, but then thought better of it. This was something they needed to talk about.

“You manipulated my brain, Hannibal. You lied to me about a potentially life-threatening disease and let me think I was going insane. Yeah, you told me about it eventually, but that doesn’t change the fact that I spent almost three months hallucinating and sleepwalking and waking up in dangerous places.” His voice was soft, but the accusation was not.

“You were never in any true danger, Will. I was keeping a very close eye on your symptoms. I would have stopped before I let anything truly harmful happen to you.”

“Oh, so months of sleep deprivation doesn’t count as harmful? What if I’d had a hallucination while chasing down a serial killer? Did you ever think about that?” His voice was starting to rise now, the familiar anger swelling up even though he was doing his best to fight it back.

“Your colleagues-”

“On the roof, Hannibal. I woke up on the fucking _roof_. What if I hadn’t woken up in time? What if I’d taken one step farther? I could have _died_.”

Hannibal stiffened at the reminder. “Will-” he began, but Will cut him off before he could say anything else.

“No, Hannibal. I have to go now. Thanks for the lunch.” His tone was bitter as he stood up, chair legs screeching unpleasantly against the floor.

Hannibal’s eyes darted from Will to his plate, the lovingly-made bruschetta mostly uneaten. Then his eyes came back to rest on Will’s face. Will averted his eyes, not wanting to face the sheer disappointment he saw in Hannibal’s gaze.

“I just… I’ll come back later.” He said quietly. “We’ll talk this through properly. I just need some space right now.”

And with that, he practically fled from Hannibal’s house, wondering how a happy conversation could turn sour so quickly.

  
  


***

Will stood against the wall of the briefing room, watching Jack pace back and forth as he spoke. “Our fugitive is Abel Gideon, transplant surgeon. Convicted in the first degree in the murders of his wife and her family. Institutionalized at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where he killed a nurse and claimed to be the Chesapeake Ripper.”

Will shifted uncomfortably, doing his best not to think about the _real_ Chesapeake Ripper that he’d left in the dining room earlier that day.

“Dr Gideon escaped this morning after killing three people,” Jack continued. “He is believed to be at large.”

Will blinked, Jack’s voice becoming distant as that familiar brush of chilling fear crept up his spine. Antlers seemed to be growing out of the walls, trapping him in place like a cage of polished white bone. He squeezed his eyes shut.

_It’s just a hallucination_ , he reminded himself. _The doctors warned you this could happen. It’s not real. Just keep taking your medicine and you’ll be fine._

When he opened his eyes again, the antlers were gone. Will breathed a sigh of relief. Jack was done with his presentation, speaking privately to a couple of agents on the far side of the room. Will’s brow felt sticky with sweat, but no one seemed to have noticed his momentary distraction.

He left the room quietly, practically fleeing to the bathroom as he struggled to calm his racing heartbeat. He’d been on medication for two months, trying to control the inflammation in his brain, and the hallucinations had almost completely stopped. That was the worst one he’d had in several weeks, and it had only lasted a few seconds, but he still felt panicked afterwards. It took a moment for him to understand why.

_Hannibal._ Usually, after a hallucination or a nightmare, he would go straight to Hannibal. He had done so even before their relationship had changed from that of doctor and patient to what it was now. Even when he’d found out about the encephalitis, he’d been so relieved that Hannibal finally _told_ him that it had, if anything, brought them closer. Now that Will’s bottled-up emotions had finally been let loose, now that he’d snapped at Hannibal and practically stormed out of the house, he’d lost that lifeline. Oh, sure, they’d probably discuss it over dinner and things would go back to normal, but that didn’t help him _right now_.

He splashed water on his face, gasping as the chill of it brought him back to reality. Right. He could do this. All he had to do was make it through the rest of the day without a breakdown.

  
  


***

Will made it through the rest of the day, but only just. He pulled out his phone several times and thought about calling Hannibal, but in the end he decided not to. It wouldn’t be fair of him to call the other man when they were in the middle of a fight (their _first_ fight, Will’s traitorous brain reminded him) to demand comfort.

By the end of the day, he looked and felt like a zombie inside. He drove straight home, intent on taking a shower and getting his head back on straight. While he was there, he should probably spend some time with the dogs. Although he still technically lived in Wolf Trap, he had been spending more and more time at Hannibal’s house, and he worried the dogs were feeling a bit neglected.

He unlocked the door and was immediately greeted by a pack of dogs. Buster was the first out the door, jumping at Will’s legs with an excited bark. Will laughed despite himself. “Hey, buddy. Missed you too.”

Once he’d said hello to all the dogs and given them their demanded cuddles, he walked inside and flopped down face-first on the bed. The sheets smelled like sweat- he should probably wash them. He had a couple of other chores to do before he could drive back to Baltimore…

Will didn’t even realize he’d fallen asleep until he woke up. He glanced at his watch with a groan. It was nearly three in the morning. Practically dragging himself out of bed, he set about his chores, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He considered texting Hannibal, but then thought better of it. Such an apology would probably go over better in person. He would swing by on his lunch break and they could have that talk.

With his dogs fed, the door closed, and his laundry in the wash, Will stripped down to his boxes and crawled back into bed. He was _exhausted_.

  
  


***

  
  


Work the next day passed in a blur. They listened to the autopsy reports, figured out that Gideon would be going after his past psychiatrists. Will hadn’t been too bothered about sharing that insight until he realized that it wasn’t just Chilton in danger. Alana had treated Gideon, once upon a time, and seeing as Will actually cared if _she_ lived or died, by the time lunchtime came around several people were being placed in protective custody.

Will approached Alana’s classroom, slipping through the doors as a veritable herd of students went past him in the opposite direction. Alana looked up at him from where she was gathering her materials on her desk.

“Are you my protective custody?” She asked, only mostly joking.

“You heard?” Will questioned, surprised. He hadn’t thought that news would spread that fast.

“I heard I get an armed escort until Gideon’s apprehended. I’ve got to say though, you don’t look so good. Are you sure you’re feeling up to it?”

Will laughed self-consciously. “Yeah, well, no need to worry about that. You’ll be getting a real FBI agent, not a teacher with a temporary badge.”

She smiled, looking over to him with one hand on her hip. “Too bad. Could have been fun, getting to cozy up with your dogs in front of a space heater.”

He paused, brows furrowing slightly as he tried to work out what to say. He was fairly certain she was flirting with him, which he would have welcomed only a few short months ago, but now it just made him uncomfortable. “I don’t, um…”

She was still smiling, clearly thinking his hesitation was due to embarrassment rather than unease. “Maybe I’ll stop by sometime after Gideon is arrested. I came by a few weeks ago, but you weren’t home.”

He vaguely remembered her mentioning something like that. It had been a few days after Budge had been killed, the first time he’d returned to work after his sick leave. “Yeah, that was… I’m actually kind of seeing someone.”

She blinked, the smile fading. She didn’t look too upset, just disappointed and a bit surprised. “Oh? Anyone I know?”

Will hesitated. “It’s complicated,” he hedged.

“Because you’re only ‘kind of’ seeing her?” she teased. Will was glad to see she wasn’t too put out by his rejection.

“No, no, we’re definitely together.” He assured her. “It’s been a few months now, actually.”

“Oh, is that why you’ve been so put-together recently? I’d noticed you seemed more stable, but I didn’t put two and two together.”

Will nodded. It was true, Hannibal _was_ the reason he’d been so much more stable. It’s just that his stability came from the fact that his brain was no longer on fire, rather than whatever Alana was imagining. He hadn’t told anybody at work about the encephalitis, not even Jack, who seemed to have assumed his sick leave had been due to the flu.

“Well, good for you. Maybe one day you can introduce us.”

He smiled at that, imagining what she would say if she knew it was Hannibal he was dating. “Yeah, one day.”

Her own smile, however, faded. “They’re going to kill Gideon, aren’t they?” she asked, her voice quiet.

Will couldn’t bring himself to lie to her. “Whatever happens to him,” he promised her, “has nothing to do with you.” Gideon was going to die, one way or another; if the police didn’t get him, Hannibal certainly would.

  
  


***

He pulled up in front of Hannibal’s house, a bouquet of flowers in his hand and an apology ready on his lips. He wasn’t going to apologize for being upset about the encephalitis- _that_ , certainly, was not his fault- but he could at least apologize for storming out like he had and for not coming back the night before, like he’d said he would.

When he got up to the doorstep, however, the door was locked. He frowned and raised his hand to knock.

There was no answer.

His frown deepening, Will looked around. There was no sign of Hannibal’s car on the street. The only set of footprints in the fresh-fallen snow were his own. Hannibal hadn’t come home for his lunch break, which meant…

_He’s still mad at me._ His heart heavy, Will trudged back to his car, resolving to call Hannibal once he got somewhere with a decent heating system.

He’d only gotten halfway back to Quantico when he caught sight of a familiar face in his rearview mirror. She’d turned before he could get a good glimpse, but the bright orange curls were enough to tell him that this was Freddie Lounds. “What are you doing here?” He murmured, pulling over and getting out of the car.

This was definitely not part of his job description, but Will knew Freddie well enough to know that if she was sneaking around somewhere during an active investigation, she’d probably stumbled across a lead. That was how he found himself following her inside of an office building. The sign on the wall labelled it as a psychiatry practice and he frowned, trying to remember whether any of Gideon’s old therapists had worked there. He thought they’d all been rounded up into protective custody.

“Dr Carruthers?” he could hear Freddie calling out cautiously from further down the hall. He didn’t recognize the name, but he suddenly had a very bad feeling about this. All of his senses were screaming for him to get out.

“Damn it,” he muttered, and continued down the hallway in search of Freddie. Pulling out his phone, he dialled the familiar number. “Come on, Jack, pick up…”

The phone rang three times and then went to voicemail. He cursed again and shoved the phone back in his pocket.

“Dr Carruthers?” Freddie called again, this time from further away. He paused only a moment before locating the open door where she must have gone. To his relief, he saw her standing there unharmed.

“Miss Lounds!” He hissed, glancing around nervously. He moved forwards to grab her arm, wanting to get out of that building as quickly as possible. “You need to get out of here, Abel Gideon-”

“I know,” she said tersely, and that was when Will realized she was still staring through the open door in front of her. He followed her gaze, tensing even further as he recognized Abel Gideon standing in the office with a dead body in the chair in front of him.

“Mr Graham!” Gideon exclaimed, sounding genuinely excited. “What a pleasant surprise! I was just telling Miss Lounds here that this is what they call a Columbian Necktie. What do you think?”

Will stood very still, mentally cursing the fact that he’d left his gun at Quantico. He hadn’t seen a reason to bring it to lunch, not thinking that he was on Gideon’s list, and now he was sorely regretting that.

“Let’s talk about this,” Will began, raising his hands slowly so as not to spook Gideon. “You don’t have to do this. This isn’t who you are.”

“I don’t know _who_ I am,” Gideon admitted cheerfully. “Am I Abel Gideon? Am I the Chesapeake Ripper? Neither? Both?”

“You’re not the Chesapeake Ripper,” Will assured him, taking a tiny step forward. He froze when Gideon pulled out a gun from seemingly nowhere and pointed it at his head.

“No, I didn’t think I was. But I’ve been preparing a gift basket for the _real_ Chesapeake Ripper. Do you think he’d enjoy an FBI agent’s head?”

Beside him, Freddie Lounds trembled with fear. “I think that’s probably the last thing he wants,” Will admitted truthfully. “But if you’re going to take one of us, take me. Freddie Lounds is a civilian, she has no part in this.”

“Au contraire. She has every part in this. After all, it was you who first wrote that I was the Ripper, wasn’t it? Back when Chilton first made me confess.” As he spoke, Gideon turned the gun so that he was pointing it at Freddie.

“And Dr Carruthers?” Will asked, guessing that the dead man was the one Freddie had been looking for. “What did _he_ do to earn the cut of your knife?”

Gideon smiled, but didn’t answer.

“He… He wrote an article.” Freddie explained shakily beside him. “About narcissistic personality disorder. He used Gideon as an example.”

_Ah_. That explained it, then. Not someone who had treated Gideon, but someone who had written about him regardless.

Will swallowed. “What are you going to do with us?”

Gideon just smiled.

  
  


***

While Freddie Lounds tried to negotiate with Gideon, Will looked around for the emergency exits. His head was still groggy from being knocked out. Apparently the threat of the gun had been enough to keep Freddie in line, but Gideon had deemed Will a ‘flight risk’ and taken appropriate measures. He wasn’t tied up, but he’d been unconscious being brought in and was still a bit disoriented. Besides, Gideon seemed to have blocked off all three exits rather effectively.

“But aren’t _you_ the Chesapeake Ripper?” Freddie asked, her voice curious. She didn’t seem anywhere near as afraid as she should be.

Gideon scoffed. “Miss Lounds, I may be a bit fuzzy in that area, but there’s no need to patronize me.”

“I’m sorry,” she offered quietly, not sounding all that sorry at all.

“It’s like remembering something from your childhood,” Gideon mused, “and you’re not sure if it’s your memory or a friend’s memory, and then you realize sadly it’s just some photo in an old book.”

Will could relate. When he’d been at the worst stage of his encephalitis, he’d been almost completely unable to determine what was real and what was a nightmare until long after the fact. Although it wasn’t quite the same thing, he could certainly empathize. He knew what it felt like to have your brains scrambled by a psychiatrist who was supposed to be helping you.

“You’re waiting for the Chesapeake Ripper to come back here,” Freddie realized, and Will couldn’t resist rolling his eyes. That seemed so obvious to him, it was hard to believe that Freddie was just now figuring it out.

“Let’s hope he gets the invitation,” Gideon said, stepping closer to the two of them.

“Oh, he will,” Will assured him, unable to resist speaking up. Gideon’s attention refocused on him, Freddie also looking rather interested.

“Do you think?” Gideon asked, looking genuinely intrigued.

“If you’re using her to do it, then yes. After all, we all know the Ripper loves his TattleCrime.”

Gideon laughed. “He does, doesn’t he? You know, I was going to kill you, but I think maybe I’ll leave you alive. You’re entertaining, at the very least.”

Will rolled his eyes again. “Great, thanks.”

“If you’re staying alive, and I’ve got a mutually beneficial deal with Lounds, I guess that just leaves poor old Dr Chilton.”

Will frowned and looked around the room one more time. His eyes caught on what looked like some sort of operating table. On top of it was a body, features obscured by a white sheet, although he could still make out the faint rise and fall of its chest. Chilton was still alive, then. He wondered briefly when Gideon had found the time to abduct him.

“Would either of you care to help me with the surgery?” Gideon offered, holding up a scalpel.

Freddie cringed while Will just sighed. He’d really been hoping for his first time dissecting a body- living _or_ dead- to be with Hannibal at his side. This would be a lackluster replacement.

“Miss Lounds it is!” Gideon announced, looking rather pleased by the prospect.

  
***

Will could barely control his reactions throughout the surgery. At every cut Gideon made, he found himself thinking that Hannibal could do it better. And when Gideon mentioned surgical trophies, it took a considerable amount of effort not to burst out laughing. If only they knew what the Ripper did with those trophies.

His amusement vanished as the body on the table turned its head, looking straight at Will with dead eyes. Chilton had been replaced by Garret Jacob Hobbs. “ _See_?” he whispered. Will shivered and screwed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, Hobbs was gone.

“You know,” Gideon said conversationally to the mostly-conscious Chilton, “it is truly amazing how many organs the body can offer up before it truly begins to-”

He was cut off by the quiet sound of footsteps echoing through the observatory. Gideon and Freddie both tensed, although not with the same emotion. Will, on the other hand, just tilted his head and smiled.

“Ah, Mr Ripper!” Gideon called out jovially. “You’re just on time. Do you like my little gift?”  
  


The footsteps approached, although Hannibal’s face was still shrouded in the shadows. He was coming from behind Freddie and Will could see her itching to turn around. “Freddie,” he warned, “don’t.”

“I wasn’t going to,” she lied, still staring down at the ventilator in her hands.

“If you see him, he has to kill you. And as much as I hate you, I don’t think you deserve to die. So whatever you do, _don’t look_.”

Freddie glanced at Will, terror evident in her eyes although she was maintaining her composure well. Will met her eyes reassuringly, then slowly closed his. It would hardly do for her to be wondering why _he_ had been spared the Ripper’s blade, after all.

There was a sharp gasp and then the loud thump of a body hitting the floor. “It’s all right, Will. You can open your eyes now.”

Hannibal’s voice was soothing and Will’s eyes fluttered open, catching sight of Freddie’s body collapsed on the floor. He ignored her, straining to meet Hannibal’s eyes in the darkness. But Hannibal wasn’t facing him. He was looking at Gideon, standing over Chilton’s still-twitching body. Gideon was looking between the two of them with a look of dawning understanding.

“You two know each other?” he asked.

“You could say that, yes.” Hannibal’s voice was cold and Will couldn’t help but shrink into himself a little bit. “So you’re the man who claimed to be the Chesapeake Ripper.”

“Yes. I assume you are he?”

Hannibal tilted his head slightly. “A terrible thing, to have your identity taken from you.”

“I’m taking it back one piece at a time. Starting with Dr Chilton here.”

“Yes, I can see that. Just be glad Chilton is the only one you’ve taken pieces from tonight. Or I would not be feeling nearly as merciful.”

“I didn’t peg you for the sentimental type,” Gideon remarked curiously. “But no, I didn’t hurt Mr Graham.”

Hannibal glanced at Will for confirmation, and Will nodded. He turned back to Gideon. “Well then. Today is your lucky day. I can confirm that you are most definitely _not_ the Chesapeake Ripper, and you might even get to live.”

Gideon blinked. “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Hannibal confirmed. Then he glanced at his watch, still clearly visible though his plastic oversuit. “You have two hours. After that, I will start hunting you. I suggest you make the most of your head start.”

Gideon nodded, glanced down at Chilton, and seemed to deliberate for a second. Then he turned and left the observatory. With him gone, Hannibal turned his attention to Will at long last.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” Hannibal told him.

Will looked up at him, hope welling up in his chest. “I’m so sorry about yesterday. I meant to come back…” He trailed off when he realized Hannibal was staring at him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“My dear Will,” Hannibal murmured, gazing at Will with something akin to awe. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

Will’s brows furrowed. “But I yelled at you,” he pointed out, “and I stormed out and I said I’d come back later but I never did.”

“You had every right to be angry at me. Everything you said was true.”

“Well, yeah, but I… shit, have I been stressing over this for the past two days for nothing? I thought you would be furious.”

“I was terrified,” Hannibal admitted, closing the gap between them and brushing his thumb over the line of Will’s cheek. “I thought you had decided to reject your Becoming, to reject _me_. You were right to be angry, Will. The encephalitis could have killed you, and it would have been my fault.”

“I know, but I thought I’d gotten over it. It’s been two months, I don’t know why I decided to blow up about it _now_.”

“Two months in which we mostly avoided talking about it,” Hannibal pointed out. “You’ve been repressing your emotions because you didn’t _want_ to be angry about it. Tell me, Will, were you afraid I wouldn’t want to be with you if I knew how you truly felt?”

Will frowned. “I didn’t… maybe subconsciously. I didn’t even realize I was mad until we were having that conversation.”

“What will it take to convince you, Will, that I’m never going to leave you? If I had lost you before you knew my identity it would have hurt immensely, but I would have survived. To lose you after… it would have destroyed me. I thought I had lost you today.”

“Gideon never laid a hand on me except to knock me out. I was never in that much danger.”

“Not from Gideon, Will.” Hannibal held him closer, pressing their foreheads together as he spoke. “I thought _I_ had lost you.”

“Oh,” Will realized. “I wasn’t… I really did mean to come back last night, Hannibal, I just fell asleep and then it was late.”

“It’s okay,” Hannibal assured him.

Will pulled away from Hannibal’s embrace reluctantly, enjoying the closeness but wanting to be able to look him in the eye. “I came by your house to talk to you. You weren’t home.”

“Today at lunch?”

Will nodded.

“I stayed in my office. I didn’t think you would be coming, and I didn’t particularly enjoy the thought of eating my lunch alone.”

“I was going to call you, but then I saw Freddie and there was everything with Gideon…”

“It’s alright. I’m just glad you’re safe.” Hannibal glanced at his watch and his brows furrowed. “Unfortunately, I can’t stay any longer. The FBI will have found my gift by now and they should be here shortly.”

“Okay,” Will agreed, his eyes darting down to where Hannibal was now pulling a small syringe out of his pocket. “You going to knock me out?”

“It’s the same drug I gave Freddie. It should only last a couple of hours. I apologize for the inconvenience, but it would look suspicious if I treated you any differently.”

Will leaned in, brushing his lips against Hannibal’s tenderly. The kiss lingered for only a moment before he felt the needle-sting in his neck and everything went black.

  
  


***

When Will woke up, it was to the sound of heavy footsteps outside. He groaned and forced his eyes to open. The door burst open, slamming against the wall, and several men dressed in black kevlar ran into the room. Will forced himself to sit up, leaning his back against the table behind him.

“It’s alright,” he told them. “He’s gone.”

The agents ignored him, sweeping past to do a search of the room. Behind them, Jack caught sight of Will and hurried over. There was a long rifle in his hand, but he set it down as he knelt beside Will.

“Are you okay? Where’s Gideon?” he questioned urgently.

Will groaned. “Don’t know. Think the Ripper took him.”

He knew, of course, that this was not the case. But he couldn’t explain where Gideon had gone without first explaining that he had been awake for their conversation and had seen the Ripper’s face. And that, of course, was the exact opposite of what he wanted to happen.

Jack’s eyes widened. “The Ripper? He was here?”

Will nodded, grimacing as the motion sent a wave of nausea through his head. “I didn’t see his face. I told Freddie to close her eyes and then I think he drugged us.” Then his eyes flew wide open. “Freddie. Is she all right? And Chilton?”

He doubted that Hannibal would have left Chilton alive. Will wasn’t sure if he had been awake for their conversation or if he had lost consciousness as well, but either way Hannibal was likely to want him dead. He was _rude_ , after all. But Freddie, he was fairly sure, was just as alive as Will was.

“She’s alive.” Another agent reported from the other side of the operating table. Will shifted, turning his body just enough to see. The agent was kneeling beside Freddie’s still body, feeling for her pulse. From what Will could see, the body only had one leg.

“They both are, actually,” Jack said with a grimace, looking at something above Will’s head. Will struggled to his feet- unfortunately having to cling to Jack’s arm to do so- and peered at the body on the table. “Jesus.”

Will only got a brief glimpse before the medics were there, ushering him out of the way and crowding around Chilton’s prone body. He looked terrible, but the gaping hole in his torso had been expertly stitched shut.

One of the medics tried to approach Will, but he waved her off. “Is Hannibal here?” he asked Jack, still clinging onto his arm for support.

“Yes, Dr Lecter is outside. Do you-”

Jack didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as Will let go of him, stubbornly ignoring the pounding in his head as he forced his muscles to cooperate. Hannibal met him in the doorway, looking only slightly surprised when Will practically threw himself at him. Hannibal’s arms came up around him in a hug- this one unimpeded by a layer of plastic- and Will melted into the warmth of his body.

“Are you alright, my love?” Hannibal asked him softly, only just loud enough for Will to hear it.

He nodded into Hannibal’s chest. “Just dizzy. How long was I gone?”

“Just under ten hours,” Hannibal told him, “assuming you got taken around the time you tried to call Jack.”

“Mmm,” Will said, closing his eyes and breathing in Hannibal’s scent. “I love you.”

It was the first time he’d ever said it, but there was no doubt in his mind that it was true. Hannibal’s grip tightened on him momentarily, but before he had a chance to reply, there was a pointed cough from behind them. Will loosened his grip on Hannibal and turned around to face Jack sheepishly.

He was looking between Will and Hannibal with a raised eyebrow. “Something you two want to tell me?” he asked, sounding as if he already knew the answer.

Will flushed, averting his eyes. “...No?”

Jack looked unimpressed, but before he could say anything, Hannibal spoke up. “Will and I’s personal lives are not the FBI’s jurisdiction. As I am no longer his therapist, I can assure you that there is no conflict of interest.” Although the words were sharp, Hannibal’s tone was not, and Jack just sighed.

“Fine. I don’t want to hear about it. But the moment this starts affecting your work, there will be consequences. Do you understand?”

Will nodded. “Do I have to give my statement now?” he asked tiredly. He would if he had to, but he was rather exhausted from whatever sedative Hannibal had given him, and mostly he just wanted to go back to sleep. Preferably cuddling Hannibal this time, rather than alone on a cold metal floor.

Jack shook his head. “We can take your official statement in the morning. Just give me a brief overview, get yourself checked out by medical, and then you’ll be good to go.”

“Would it be alright if I looked after Will’s medical needs on my own? I _am_ a licensed doctor,” Hannibal suggested, although Will doubted he would take no for an answer. Jack looked like he wanted to argue, but instead he just nodded.

“Fine,” he said. “Just tell me what happened and you can take him home.”

Will nodded, still leaning into Hannibal for support. “I was driving back from my lunch break and I saw Freddie Lounds. I followed her into an office building because I thought she might have a lead, but when I got inside Gideon was there with a dead body. He knocked me out and I woke up in the observatory. He’d just started, ah, his ‘surgery’ on Chilton when the Ripper showed up. At that point, Chilton was missing several organs and Freddie still had both legs. There was a sting in my neck, I think he injected me with something, and the next thing I knew I was waking up to you guys’ arrival.”

Jack nodded along with Will’s summary. “That matches with what we found. I didn’t see your missed call until we were already on our way to Dr Carruthers’s body, but when we triangulated the location and saw it was made from his office, we knew Gideon had you. I’m just glad to have you back and all in one piece.”

Will sighed. “I know. I wish I had more to tell you, Jack, but the Ripper would have killed me if I’d tried to look at him.”

“I don’t blame you. It’s a miracle you survived at all. Any idea why he took Lounds’s leg but not yours? Or why he stitched Chilton back up?”

“Freddie Lounds was going to look at him. I had to warn her to close her eyes. He probably respected that. As for Chilton, I have no idea,” Will said honestly.

Jack nodded. “Alright. You can go. And Will? Try and stay safe.”

“I will,” he promised.

As they made their way over to Hannibal’s car, Will leaned in closer to Hannibal. “Gideon?” he asked quietly. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been unconscious, but it must have been at least several hours, because there was no way he’d been there for ten hours before Hannibal showed up. The fact that Hannibal had apparently found time to not only amputate Freddie’s leg, but also bind the wound and stitch up Chilton’s torso, only supported that theory.

“I have no idea. I figured we could give it a couple days before we start looking for him, make it more of a challenge. That is, assuming you’d still like to help.”

“Of course I’d like to help. Why did you save Chilton? I thought we were going to let Gideon kill him.”

“We were,” Hannibal allowed, opening the passenger side door for Will, “but then I thought it might be more satisfying if we did it ourselves. We’ll give him a few months to recuperate, of course.”

“So for the next sounder we’ve got Chilton, Gideon, and…?”

It would have been nice to use Tobias Budge, but they’d killed him that first night. Of course, his body had never been connected to the Ripper. It had been too soon after his last sounder for that.

“We’ll find someone,” Hannibal assured him. “After all, there is no shortage of rude people in the world.”

Will laughed, reaching over to take Hannibal’s hand. They would have to have a longer conversation later, one that wasn’t just the two of them apologizing back and forth, but for now they were okay.

And as he drifted off to sleep, Will could have sworn he heard Hannibal’s voice, inches from his ear, whisper, “I love you, too, my darling Will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what other episodes you'd like to see in this universe! I'll definitely do something where they're hunting Gideon, but beyond that, I have no plans. Obviously Will won't be going to jail in this one (or at least, not because of anything Hannibal's done) so a lot of season 2 would be very different.


End file.
